However, I do not recommend for anyone with any self-respect to work for the accounting department in the Delaware headquarters. This department has recently undergone many changes and has had a large amount of turnover because of these changes. In my case, expectations were set during my interview process and I fully planned on these expectations when I started. Once I was employed, however, all of those expectations were dismissed. Any training that was promised was either a) rushed and poorly executed; or b) nonexistent. If a staff member asked someone for help, they were told to “take initiative and figure it out.” If staff did not ask questions, they were berated and told to ask more questions. If a staff member had any opinions, they were shut down by the management group. The accounting department members laughed at the fact that, on a company survey, the entire department answered that they do not have friends amongst their own colleagues. They said “who needs friends”?
The hours were horrendous. We were expected to be in no later than 7:30 AM and were instructed to stay until 9 or 10 PM every evening (Please note that this was not during tax season or any other busy time for the company). Staff members were expected to stay as long as the management group was still there. If staff left before the management group, they would usually be berated for it the following day. This atmosphere made it very difficult to obtain the work/life balance that Greif expands upon in their interview process. Any sort of life balance that was promised by the accounting department management was immediately shut down. To compare, I worked longer hours at Greif than I did during tax season at a national public accounting firm.
